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B - Beauty - Gamsat Essay

The narrator struggles to comfort their mother after the death of their grandmother. Seeing their mother in deep grief for months, the narrator feels helpless and frustrated. However, when the narrator asks their mother to share her memories and feelings about their grandmother, it allows their mother to open up. Recounting childhood memories and the grandmother's dreams, it illuminates their understanding and brings them comfort. The document argues that seeking to understand different perspectives, even on difficult issues, can open new opportunities for collaboration and progress by enlarging one's understanding through another's insights.

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Pen Wom
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238 views1 page

B - Beauty - Gamsat Essay

The narrator struggles to comfort their mother after the death of their grandmother. Seeing their mother in deep grief for months, the narrator feels helpless and frustrated. However, when the narrator asks their mother to share her memories and feelings about their grandmother, it allows their mother to open up. Recounting childhood memories and the grandmother's dreams, it illuminates their understanding and brings them comfort. The document argues that seeking to understand different perspectives, even on difficult issues, can open new opportunities for collaboration and progress by enlarging one's understanding through another's insights.

Uploaded by

Pen Wom
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The cacophony of the devices in the ICU filled the silent vacuum of our living room.

We watched my
grandma through the screen as she took her last few breaths with extreme difficulty and her lungs
and heart gave way. The loss of such a beautiful and strong woman in my life- in my family
members’ life- was profound. Perhaps the effects of her demise were even more pronounced on her
daughter- my mother. Even after the rest of us became mentally stronger, mum was worlds away
from us. I didn’t know what to say to her, or how to comfort her, which led to me just sitting in her
presence for hours together, watching her either stare blankly into the space or weep silently. I
wanted to get to her, touch her, and say that it’ll be okay. But I just couldn’t do it. Perhaps because I
knew that the way grandma died felt so totally unfair to mum, that I couldn’t bring myself to say it’ll
be okay. Or because I just didn’t know how to put my tornado of feelings into words. All the while, I
couldn’t bear to see mum in pain for months after grandma’s death. Sometimes, I felt frustrated out
of helplessness- why can’t I do anything to stop this, and make it right again? How much longer do I
have to see mum this way? Agony turned into frustration, and frustration began turning into
despondence. It was proving impossible to fathom how I could ever be happy around mum again
without offending her.

It wasn’t until I decided to broach the subject with mum that I realised how much I was missing. As I
sat down nervously, I asked mum to tell me how she’s feeling. That’s all I asked- no promises of a
bright future, no excessive nodding, no demands. That’s when mum began telling me all about
grandma- not how or why she died, but what she was like before that. The childhood memories that
mum had, the sacrifices that grandma made for mum, and all the dreams that grandma loved to talk
about. She told me even the ugly stories- there was no holding back for mum at that point. The
enormous dewdrop which, until then, hung over us in the form of grandma’s death, suddenly lit up
in a cascade of lights woven from the memories that mum shined a light on. I realised that my
metaphorical torch had only been able to show me some colours; but mum’s powerful torch
illustrated a much more beautiful picture of my grandma, both alive and otherwise. It was all there
for me to see- I only needed to give mum a chance to show it to me.

The beauty of perception could best be exemplified when individuals seek to acknowledge,
appreciate and learn from each other’s experiences and opinions. The human interactions can be
regarded as a microcosm of diversity, where ideas intersect, delineate from and complement each
other. To respect this multitude of opinions with the ultimate goal of progression would be to
uncover the beauty of cooperation through perspective. If those who mourn the destruction of our
planet’s environment were to consider what the issue looks like from any other side, this would
open a new beacon of innovation to curate policies that would address other concerns. And vice
versa- if those who believe that climate change is insignificant were to be shown, through a new
torch, what the effects are, it may open new doors for collaboration. Just as the universe is ever-
expanding, so is our ability to enlarge our understanding of a given issue. Granted, we may never
know when we stop learning, just as we may not know when the universe stops expanding. But the
gift of perspective would enable us to see the beauty of progress.

My experiences have exemplified how there is unity in my ability to empathise with and reflect on
ideas that I don’t immediately perceive. Admittedly, my experiences have shaped my personal
understanding of this beauty of diversity, and not everyone would be able to define beauty as such.
But I continue to seek the beauty in every storm of ideas, for with the help of another’s torch, I
believe I can always find a new star shining back at me.

35 mins

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